Tomatoes, chooks, etc

The tomatoes have started at last!  Shall we go picking?

I keep saying that next year I'm going to be way more organised and I'm going to stake or trellis the plants right from the start and I'm going to pinch out the new growth.  I'm definitely not going to end up with the tomato jungle situation we have here now.

It makes the harvesting into quite a treasure hunt.  You have to keep your eyes peeled, because the chooks and the bugs will happily get stuck into any that you miss.

No trip to the vegetable garden would be complete without one or several chooks turning up and standing between your feet.  They're just so content to be together.  And to check repeatedly that your toes aren't especially fat grubs.

Unfortunately the cherry tomatoes are in bad shape, aren't they.  The plants are blackened and all the stems are growing these grotesque worm-like tumours all over them.  The fruit is pale and split.  We'd better take them out before they infect the rest of the plants.

But look at this perfect imperfection all lined up on the fence.  Let's take them straight inside for dinner.  Spaghetti bolognese it is.

Before we go back inside, lets have a quick look at what else is going on.

The pumpkin vine is still trying to take over the vegetable garden and I've given up trying to keep track of all the pumpkins.

Do pumpkin vines make you itchy?  I have to garden in gloves, not just because I'm a bit squeamish about creepy-crawlies, but because the pumpkin, the zucchini, and the tomato plants all make me infernally itchy.  Just me?

Oh look here comes B, back from checking the cray pots.  Maybe it'll be crayfish and tomato spaghetti tonight instead.